


Good First Date

by gremlinquisitor (suchanadorer)



Series: Bellial Adaar [1]
Category: Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-05-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 00:42:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24446014
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/suchanadorer/pseuds/gremlinquisitor
Summary: For DADWC, for the prompt "Blind date set up by friends."Read it here on tumblr!
Relationships: Female Adaar/Blackwall
Series: Bellial Adaar [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1765573
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	Good First Date

A flush creeps up Thom’s neck until it’s prickling under his beard, warmth flooding his skin as his eyes move up, up, and yet still higher up. Sera said that this friend of hers was tall, and she wasn’t joking. Even leaning on the bar she’s at least half a head above anyone else, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist. Dark jeans hug soft hips, and the top she’s wearing hangs loose, with a low back that shows off part of a tattoo that trails up along her shoulder and down her left arm. 

“Fucking hell, Sera. Warn a man next time.” He drags a hand back through his hair and smooths the front of his shirt as he makes his way across the bar room towards her. The tinny Top 40 coming from hidden speakers fades as he gets closer, all his focus on trying to make a good first impression. For a date he’d grumbled about and begrudgingly agreed to go on, he suddenly wants very much for this to go well. 

He clears his throat and squares his stance behind her, keeping some distance. “Excuse me, are you Bellial?”

The figure at the bar straightens, confirming his hopes. White hair spills off her shoulder in loose waves when she turns to look at him, eyes so blue they’re almost purple darting over his face and front so quickly that he half expects to bleed from the cuts. He opens his mouth to stumble over an apology when her expression softens, deep crimson lips curling to a smile.

“Only if you’re Blackwall,” she answers, smooth and low, her gaze now lingering on him and doing nothing to stop the heat that rolls under his skin in renewed waves, a heavy mix of nerves and hope. “Sera mentioned a beard, but there’s… a lot she left out.”

He chuckles, looking down and shaking his head. “I’m glad she remembered that much. I know I’m not her type.” The name still feels new to him, and it’s like sand in his eye to hear her say it, but he’s not about to correct her, either. This is who he will be now.

Bellial laughs at his reply, a huff of air through her nose, short but genuine. “No, but you’re definitely mine. She wasn’t wrong there.”

The combination of her laugh and the comment is a one-two punch that leaves him breathless. There was a time when he could talk almost anyone he wanted into bed, but those days are behind him, and he has to fight to unstick his tongue from the roof of his mouth as he desperately tries to remember how to flirt. It used to be so easy, but none of them ever looked like her, either.

“No, she wasn’t, was she?” He smiles, and she smiles back, and for a moment he lets himself think maybe this won’t be one more thing he ruins. He’s a different man now, for better or for worse.

The moment hangs between them, each of them silently acknowledging the interest behind the statements. Bellial moves first, one arm curling back to the bar to collect her glass, still half-full of some dark ale.

“What are you drinking?” She asks. “I can get you something and we can find a table.”

She’s already turning away, and he reaches out to set a hand on the small of her back to stop her. “No, please. You have to at least let me buy you a drink.”

Her eyes trail up his arm to meet his gaze, and he’s just about to pull away when she settles back into the touch. “It’s my treat. I bartend here like every other weekend, once a month, whenever they need me, so I get to drink for free. It’s why I suggested this place.”

She’s warm under his fingertips, and it takes a conscious effort for him to pull his hand away. “Bold move. What if we hated each other after ten minutes?”

“Then you would know to never come here again. And if it turned out you were the creepy type, we have people to deal with that too.” She flashes him a grin that borders on a snarl. “But I figure Sera would’ve clocked that and then this night wouldn’t be happening, so.”

She shrugs with one shoulder and nods towards the bar again. He gives the taps a cursory glance, then nods towards her glass. “I’ll have what you’re having.”

Bellial smiles and shouts to Cabot, the bartender, and two more rounds appear on the bar in short order. She’s gathered them in her hands before he has a chance to protest--”Bartender, remember?”--and he can do little more than follow after her to a booth at the back of the bar. 

The place has a sort of rustic charm, with menus printed on heavy paper set on clipboards at each table, and sturdy cutlery in a metal bucket tucked away near the wall. Bellial sets the drinks out and slides into one side of the booth, and after a moment’s indecision, Thom slides in to the side opposite. 

After they sit, conversation gets easier, and Thom can only marvel at Sera’s matchmaking ability. It’s rare he meets someone with a sense of humor that makes him blush, but Bellial jokes right along with him, dark and dirty. She works as private security, and she’s firm but kind when she tells him that it’s none of his business who she protects. She doesn’t flinch at his being ex-military and still not sure what to do with his life. 

“I’m good with my hands,” he explains as a short, dark-haired waitress drops off two enormous cheeseburgers. Thom watches as she raises her brows at Bellial, who only smiles and pops her own eyebrows in reply.

“I’ll bet you are,” she replies under her breath as her friend sidles away, and Thom’s well-practiced explanation about trying to find a job in construction dies in his mouth. There’s embers in her eyes when she catches his gaze again before picking up her burger. 

Her foot drags up the inside of his leg under the table and he almost bites through his lip. “Let a man eat, Belle!” He sighs, laughing even as that same flush races over his skin again.

“Just making sure you have room for dessert,” she purrs.

He doesn’t dare ask what she means, unsure if he’s more worried about being right or being wrong. It’s been… a while since he was with anyone, and while he won’t deny his interest, the thought brings nerves along with it. 

They sit and continue talking long after their plates are cleared away, the table slowly filling with empty glasses. He’s not sure which round it was when she decided to sit on his side of the booth with him, but she’s settled in beside him, his arm slung up on the back of the booth, not quite around her shoulders. They’re the only ones still there, save for Cabot, who’s doing a poor job of not glaring at them as he wipes down the bar again.

“What do you say we get out of here?” Her breath is warm on his skin, and her hand slides along the inside of his thigh under the table. The touch is so unexpected that he has to stop himself from jumping at it. “Head back to your place for a nightcap.”

He can only manage a nod and a low hum in reply. Sometime during the night he’d mentioned living around the corner, not once thinking that that could lead to this. He’d come prepared to have a mediocre evening and then leave alone, but Bellial is electric, and he won’t pretend that her sensuality and unguarded attraction to him isn’t sexy as hell. As she stands and offers him her hand to pull him to his feet, he does his best to recall if he left anything damning out in plain sight. He wouldn’t want an errant pair of dirty briefs to be the reason he never sees her again.

“‘Night, Cabot,” she calls as they make their way out into the chill of the late evening air. As soon as they’ve passed the windows of the bar, Bellial turns and pulls him to her, backing them up against the brick wall and dragging him in for a kiss. It’s messy and imprecise and she shows none of the caution he imagined from a first kiss. He can feel the heat and the need of it, with her hand curling in his hair, the other pulling on his belt to bring him even closer. He grabs at her hips, welcoming it when she tilts her head to deepen the kiss.

Bellial breaks first, breathing hard and watching him with shining eyes. She swipes her thumb across her lower lip and grins at him. “Come on, show me where we’re going, and I’ll show you how far down my tattoo goes.”

“Let it never be said that I refused a lady’s request,” he replies, stepping back and gesturing with his arm to lead them up the street towards his apartment. 

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are always appreciated! It really means a lot to me to see what people think, and while I know I don't always keep up at replies, know that I read every comment and always want to respond. Sometimes I just need to find the words. 
> 
> Please come say hello on [my tumblr](http://gremlinquisitor.tumblr.com) if you're there! :)


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